If Merit Did Not Exist
10th October 2010
Bryan Caplan is not afraid to ask the hard questions.
The most strident objection to merit pay is that “merit” is utterly subjective. It’s an interesting claim. But it’s hardly an argument for basing pay on seniority. The natural implication of the unreality of merit, rather, is that we should simply hire whoever’s cheapest. Why pay extra for imaginary differences?